Lifting apparatus

ABSTRACT

Lifting apparatus for lifting and controlling a threedimensional load, particularly a module for a modular building. The apparatus includes a lifter mounted on a movable support connected to a frame. The lifter is adapted to be lifted by a crane or other power means. The frame is adapted to be connected to the load as with securing lines. A first drive mechanism is operatively connected to the lifter for moving it relative to the support in first and second opposite directions, and a second drive mechanism is operatively connected to the support for moving the support and the lifter thereon in opposite directions perpendicular to the first and second directions. The drive mechanisms include electrical motors which are controlled by control apparatus operable to actuate the motors to position the lifter at any point in a plane in order to control the angle of the load while lifted.

United States Patent 3,413,028 11/1968 Wilkie t.

ABSTRACT: Lifting apparatus for lifting and controlling athree-dimensional load, particularly a module for a modular building Theapparatus includes a lifter mounted on a movable support connected to aframe. The lifter is adapted to be lifted by a crane or other powermeans The frame is adapted to be connected to the load as with securinglines. A first drive mechanism is operatively connected to the lifterfor moving it relative to the support in first and second oppositedirections, and a second drive mechanism is operatively connected to thesupport for moving the support and the lifter thereon in oppositedirections perpendicular to the first and second directions. The drivemechanisms include electrical motors which are controlled by controlapparatus operable to actuate the motors to position the lifter at anypoint in a plane in order to control the angle of the load while lifted.

PATENTEU Aus sum 3; 596,968

sum 1 0F 3 INVENTOR JOHN J. HOLM 2 SETTLE & OLTMAN ATTORNEYS PATENTEDAUE3m $599 968 sum 2 OF 3 46 I JOHP J JHOLIVI 104 SETTLE & OLTMAN ATTORNEYSPATENTED Am; 3 l9?! SHEET 3 OF 3 INVENTOR JOHN J. HOL M SETTLE & OLTMANAT TORNEYS LIFTING APPARATUS Modular construction offers many advantagesto the home builder and builders of other types of buildings as well. Toname a few, standardized materials can be used, structures and shapescan be prefabricated to relatively exact dimensions within closetolerances to assure proper fit. The time required for construction canbe greatly reduced, and economies in labor and materials can beachieved.

In modular construction, units of a building called modules are prebuiltin a factory in a finished or nearly finished condition, and are thentransported to a site and assembled with each other to provide acomplete building such as a home. The modules are typically transportedfrom factory to home site on a truck, and when the truck arrives at thehome site the module is lifted from the truck by means of a crane andlowered onto a foundation to which it is firmly secured.

Lifting a heavy home module which may weigh several tons and lowering itinto an exact position on a foundation while the module is suspendedfrom a crane offers some practical problems. The exact location of thecenter of gravity of the module varies from one module to another,partly because of model variations, so the line of the crane cannotordinarily be attached directly over the center of gravity of themodule. Even a slight variation from the center of gravity may result intilting of the module when it is lifted. If the module is so tilted whenit is lowered onto the foundation, it becomes very difficult to set themodule down on the foundation in exactly the right position; This is notto say, however, that some tilting may notbe tolerated, and in fact insome cases it is even desirable to intentionally tilt the module veryslightly as it is lowered onto the foundation so as to set down firstone corner, then another, and so on until the module is properlylocated. However this intentional tilting requires accurate control overthe angleofthe module while it is being lowered.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide liftingapparatus for lifting and controlling the angle of a three-dimensionalload such as a module for a modular building.

Another object of the invention is to provide lifting apparatus by whicha module or other load being lifted can be levelled orintentionallytilted a predetermined amount while in a raised position.

Another object of the invention is to provide lifting apparatus in whicha lifter can be positioned at any point in a predetermined plane inorder to control the tilt angle of a load while lifted.

Another object ofthe invention is to provide lifting and levellingapparatus with controls, either manually operated or automaticallyoperated or both, for driving motors of the apparatus to accuratelyposition a lifter relative to the center of gravity of a load.

Among the other objects of the invention are to provide lift ingapparatus which can be fabricated on a practical basis, which is notcritical in operation, which is not unduly expensive, and which can beoperated in conjunction with a crane or other power means withoutcritically sensitive manipulation.

Other objects of this invention will appear from the followingdescription and appended claims, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings forming a part of this specification wherein like referencecharacters designate corresponding parts in the several views.

ON THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an elevational view showing lifting apparatusin accordance with one embodiment of the invention as used to lift amodule of a home;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of the apparatus and module of FIG. 1 asviewed from one end;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of the lifting apparatus, this view beingslightly larger than FIG. 2 but viewed from the same end;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the lifting apparatus;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line 77 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged sectional view of a sensing control which may beused with the apparatus;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a gimbal used in the sensing controlof FIG. 8;

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view showing electrical contacts includedwithin the sensing control of FIG. 8; and

FIG. 111 is a schematic view showing changed positions of a module whileit is being levelled by means of the lifting apparatus of the invention.

Before explaining the present invention in detail, it is to beunderstood that the invention is not limited in its application to thedetails of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, since the invention is capable of otherembodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also,it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employedherein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

AS SHOWN ON THE DRAWINGS FIGS. 1 and 2 show a lifting apparatus 20 inaccordance with one embodiment of the invention attached to a module 22which is to be assembled with other modules (not shown) to form amodular home. The lifting; apparatus 20 is attached to the hook 24 of acrane or power lifting means which provides motive force for lifting themodule 22 and lowering it as needed. As previously mentioned, the mostcritical lifting and lowering operation occurs when the module 22 isbeing transferred from a truck to a foundation at a home site. Duringthis operation, the angle of the module relative to horizontal should becontrolled relatively accurately, and the lifting apparatus 20accomplishes that function.

The lifting apparatus 20 includes a frame generally designated 26 whichis attached to the module 22 by means of lines 28. The lines 28 may beconnected directly to the module 22 at spaced points, or the lines 26may be connected to a spreader such as the spreader 30 which is shown inFIGS. 1 and 2. The spreader 30 is a strong rectangular structure whichabsorbs the horizontal components of the lifting force applied by thelines 28 which extend at angles from the frame 26. As shown in FIGS. land 2, the spreader 30 may be connected by short vertical lines 32 orother attachment means to studs 34 at the roof of the module 22,although a variety of attaching structures are available. In thedrawings, a stud 34 is provided at each corner of the module and twoadditional studs 34 are provided at the midpoint of the module onopposite sides thereof. The lines 28 are attached to the spreader 30 atrespective points directly above each of the studs 34, and the lines 28extend angularly up to the frame 26 where they are attached to eyes 36(FIG. 6). Thus, the spreader 30 receives all of the compressive forcesapplied by the lines 28, and in turn applies only vertical liftingforces to the module 22. If, however, the module has a strong and rigidframe as is sometimes the case, the module itself can absorb thecompressive forces without damage and the spreader 30 may be omitted.

In the illustrated embodiment, the frame 26 is rectangular and has fourI-beams 38, 40, 42 and 44 (FIG. 4). The I-beams 42 and 44 are joined toopposite ends ofthe I-beams 38 and 40 respectively to form therectangular frame. The frame 26 is smaller in area than the module 22,but it is large enough in area to cover the zone where the center ofgravity of the module 22 may be expected to lie. It is apparent that thecenter of gravity of the module 22 may not be at its geometrical centerand, in fact, probably will not be because the structure inside themodule is not uniformly distributed in most cases. Thus, the frame 26must be large enough to allow positioning of the book 24 above thecenter of gravity of the module 22.

Mounted on and connected to the frame 26 is a movable support 46 in theform of a bridge which spans the I-beams 38 and 40. The bridge orsupport 46 may also be an l-beam if desired. As shown in FIG. 5, thebridge 46 has wheels or rolflanges on the inside faces of the I-beams 40and 38, and the lower wheels 48 and the lower wheels 50' ride on thelower flanges on the inside faces of the I-beams 40 and 38. The twolower wheels 48 at one end of the bridge 46 are shown riding on thel-beam 40 in FIG. 6. The l-beams 38 and 40 are parallel to each other,and they form tracks along which the bridge 46 moves. The bridge 46 canmove transversely in two opposite directions relative to the frame 26.Thus, the bridge 46 can traverse the full length of the frame 26.

Mounted on and connected to the bridge 46 is a lifter 50. The lifter 50has an eye 52 to which the hook 24 of the crane is connected (FIG. sothe lifting force of the crane is applied directly to the lifter 50. Thelifter 50 has four wheels all designated 54, and these wheels ride onthe underside of the upper flanges 56 of the l-beam which forms thebridge 46 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.

The lifter 50 may consist of spaced, triangular arms 58 and 60 with thewheels 54 fastened by means of studs or the like to the lower ends ofthe arms 58 and 60. The upper ends of the arms 58 and 60 may be fastenedto the eye 52.

The lifter 50 can move longitudinally of the bridge or support 46 in twoopposite directions which are perpendicular to the directions in whichthe bridge 46 moves. The lifter 50 can traverse a substantial portion ofthe length of the bridge 46. It may be seen that by moving the bridge 46transversely of the frame 26 and by moving the lifter 50 longitudinallyof the bridge 46, it is possible to position the lifter 50 at anydesired point within a plane which corresponds generally to the plane ofthe frame 26. By this movement, the lifter 50, and also the hook 24 ofthe crane, can be positioned either directly over or in a predeterminedoffset position relative to the center of gravity of the module 22 forthe purpose of levelling the module or for purposely tilting the moduleat a slight predetermined angle.

The drive means for the bridge or support 46 includes an electricalmotor 64 with a reduction gear unit 66, both of which are mounted on thel-beam 44 at one end of the frame 26. Two drivescrews 68 and 70 traversethe frame 26, and are journaled in bearings 72 and 74 (FIG. 7) which aremounted on the outside faces of the beams 42 and 44. The screws 68 and70 have sprockets or pulleys 76 and 78 mounted on their ends, and thesprockets 76 and 78 are connected in driving relation with a sprocket 80which is rotated by the motor 64 through the gear reduction unit 66.

The screws 68 and 70 are operatively connected to the support or bridge46 to provide the force for driving the bridge along the frame 26. Thescrews 68 and 70 may pass through gimbals 82 and 84. The screws 68 and70 are threadedly connected to the inside ring of the gimbals 82 and 84as shown in FIG. 5. The inside ring is pivotally mounted on an outsidering which is pivotally mounted on the bridge 46. The gimbals merelyserve to take up variations in the screws which might otherwise causethe screws to bind if they were directly threadedly connected to thebridge itself or to a pillow block mounted on the bridge.

The drive means for the lifter 50 includes a drivescrew 86 and a motor88 which operates through a gear reduction unit 90. The screw 86 may bejournaled at the end opposite the gear reduction unit 90 in a pillowblock 92 which is mounted on the bridge 46. The screw 86 passes througha gimbal 94 and is threadedly connected to the inner ring of the gimbal94. The inner ring is in turn pivoted on an outer ring 96 which ispivotally connected to the anus 58 and 60 of the lifter 50. Thus, thedrivescrew 86 is operatively connected to the lifter 50 in a manner soas to provide movement of the lifter 50 along the bridge 46 in eitherlongitudinal direction depending upon the direction of rotation of thescrew 86. Of course the motors 64 and 88 are reversible electricalmotors to allow driving the screws in either direction of rotation.

As shown in FIG. 1, a manual control 100 may be connected to the motors64 and 88 by means of cable 102. By means of switches provided in themanual control 100, an operator may watch the module while it is beinglifted and actuate buttons on the control 100 to drive the motors 64 and88 so as to position the lifter 50 over the center of gravity of themodule. Actually, the operator would observe the tilt of the module asshown in FIG. 11, and merely drive the motors to move the lifter 50until the module is levelled as shown in dashed lines in FIG. 11. Themovement of the lifter should be very slow so that the module does notswing back and forth in pendulum fashion when the lifter 50 is moved.This can be accomplished by proper selection of the pitch and the speedof rotation of the drivescrews and also the speed of the motors 64 and88.

In addition to the manual control 100, or perhaps as an alternativethereto, a sensing control 104 (FIGS. 5, 6 and 8) may be provided. Theillustrated sensing control is also a pendulum and gimbal type ofdevice. A pendulum rod 106 is affixed to a ball 108 which is pivotal onstub shafts 110 and 112 which are mounted on the outer ring 114 of thegimbal. The outer ring 114 is in turn pivotal on stub shafts 116 and 118which are mounted on the housing 120 of the sensing control. The shafts116 and 118 may be held in place by a ring 122 which is screwed onto thehousing 120 as shown in FIG. 8. A removable cover 124 is provided on thehousing, and under this cover there are switch contacts 126, 128, and132 as shown in FIGS. 8 and 10. These contacts are connected byappropriate wiring 134 to the motors 64 and 88. The contacts 126 and 130control the motor 64, and the contacts 128 and 132 control th'emotor 88.On top of the ball or inner ring 108 of the gimbal of the sensingcontrol is a movable contact 136.

As may be seen in FIGS. 5 and 6, the sensing control 104 may be attachedto the bridge, the frame, or even directly to the module if desired.When the element to which the sensing control is attached is horizontal,the movable contact 136 is centered between all of the contacts 126,128, 130 and 132, so all control circuits are open and the motors areoff. If the module 22 should tilt in the manner shown in FIG. 11 when itis lifted, the movable contact 136 would pivot into contact with thefixed contact 130, and this would actuate the motor 64 in a sense todrive the lifter 50 to the left and thus return the module to a levelposition as indicated in FIG. 11 in dashed lines.

The sensing control should ordinarily be provided as a supplement to themanual control 100 and the manual control 100 could be used to overridethe sensing control at any time. The sensing control must be designed tostop the motors before the exact level condition is reached so as toprevent hunting; that is, back-and-forth operation of the motorsattempting to precisely position the lifter which could result inswinging of the module. It will be understood that the manual control100 can be used to override the sensing control 104 when it is desiredto intentionally tilt the module 22 as for example when the module isbeing put down on a foundation. It is sometimes desirable to set onecorner of a module on the foundation, then another corner, and so onuntil all corners are in place. This may sometimes help to accuratelylocate the module. The control 100 can be used to provide thiscorner-by-corner action if desired.

Thus, the invention provides a lifting apparatus for controlling theposition of a load while lifted, the apparatus being capable of eitherlevelling the load or intentionally tilting the load slightly as needed.The lifter of the apparatus can be positioned at any point in a planeand not just linearly along a line. Thus, the device provides fulllevelling action.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. Lifting apparatus for lifting and controlling a threedimensionalload, said apparatus including in combination, lifter means to be liftedby a power means, support means supporting said lifter means andconnected thereto, first drive means operatively connected to saidlifter means for moving said lifter means relative to said support meansin first and second opposite directions, frame means operativelyconnected to said support means, means for connecting said frame meansto said load, second drive means operatively connected to said supportmeans for moving said support means and said lifter means therewith inopposite directions perpendicular to said first and second direction,said first and second drive means each including electrical motor means,and electrical control means for said motor means operable to actuatesaid motor means to position said lifter means at any point in a planein order to control the angle of the load while lifted.

2. The lifting apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which said first drivemeans includes first screw means coupled to said lifter means and firstmotor means coupled to said screw means to rotate the same.

3. The lifting apparatus as claimed in claim 2 in which said seconddrive means includes second screw means coupled to said support meansand second motor means coupled to said second screw means to rotate thesame.

4. The lifting apparatus as claimed in claim 3 in which first gimbalmeans couples said first screw means to said lifter means and secondgimbal means couples said second screw means to said support means.

5. The lifting apparatus as claimed in claim 4 in which said frame meanshas tracks thereon, and said support means has wheels riding on saidtracks to provide movement in said directions.

6. The lifting apparatus as claimed in claim 5 in which said supportmeans has tracks thereon, and said lifter means has wheels riding onsaid tracks to provide movement in said opposite directions.

7. The lifting apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which said electricalcontrol means includes a sensing. means for sensing the angle of theload to automatically actuate said motor means.

8. Apparatus for lifting three-dimensional loads and for leveling thesame during lifting, said apparatus comprising frame means, means forconnecting the frame means at spaced points to the load, support meansmovably mounted on said frame means and movable transversely to saidframe means in first and second directions, lifter means operativelyconnected to said support means and movable perpendicular to said firstand second directions, drive means including electrical motor means todrive said support means and said lifter means, and electrical controlmeans for said motor means operable to actuate said motor means when theload is tilted to move said lifter means to any point in a plane andthus position said lifter means over the center of gravity of the loadso that force may be applied to the lifter means to lift the load in asubstantially level condition.

9. Lifting apparatus for lifting and controlling a threedimensional loadcomprising, a frame, means for attaching said frame to said load, saidframe having two elongated and parallel tracks, bridge means movablymounted on said tracks and movable in first and second directions,lifter means movable with said bridge means and further movable in thirdand fourth directions perpendicular to said first and second directions,drive means for said lifter means and said bridge means includingelectrical motor means, and electrical control means for said motormeans operable to actuate said motor means to position said lifter meansat any point in a plane in order to control the angle of the load whilelifted.

10. Lifting apparatus for lifting and leveling a three-dimensional loadcomprising, a frame having a pair of spaced and parallel tracks, meansfor attaching said frame to said load at spaced points, a bridge havingwheels riding on said tracks and movable in two opposite directions, amotor, screw means coupling said motor to said bridge for driving saidbridge, said bridge having a track at right angles to said tracks ofsaid frame, a lifter having wheels riding on said track of said bridge,another motor, and further screw means coupling said other motor to saidlifter for driving said lifter in directions perpendicular to saidopposite directions, said lifter being adapted to be coupled to a craneor the like to lift a load and leveling the load by operation of saidmotors to place the lifter over the center ofgravity of the load.

1. Lifting apparatus for lifting and controlling a threedimensionalload, said apparatus including in combination, lifter means to be liftedby a power means, support means supporting said lifter means andconnected thereto, first drive means operatively connected to saidlifter means for moving said lifter means relative to said support meansin first and second opposite directions, frame means operativelyconnected to said support means, means for connecting said frame meansto said load, second drive means operatively connected to said supportmeans for moving said support means and said lifter means therewith inopposite directions perpendicular to said first and second directions,said first and second drive means each including electrical motor means,and electrical control means for said motor means operable to actuatesaid motor means to position said lifter means at any point in a planein order to control the angle of the load while lifted.
 2. The liftingapparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which said first drive means includesfirst screw means coupled to said lifter means and first motor meanscoupled to said screw means to rotate the same.
 3. The lifting apparatusas claimed in claim 2 in which said second drive means includes secondscrew means coupled to said support means and second motor means coupledto said second screw means to rotate the same.
 4. The lifting apparatusas claimed in claim 3 in which first gimbal means couples said firstscrew means to said lifter means and second gimbal means couples saidsecond screw means to said support means.
 5. The lifting apparatus asclaimed in claim 4 in which said frame means has tracks thereon, andsaid support means has wheels riding on said tracks to provide movementin said directions.
 6. The lifting apparatus as claimed in claim 5 inwhich said support means has tracks thereon, and said lifter means haswheels riding on said tracks to provide movement in said oppositedirections.
 7. The lifting apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which saidelectrical control means includes a sensing means for sensing the angleof the load to automatically actuate said motor means.
 8. APparatus forlifting three-dimensional loads and for leveling the same duringlifting, said apparatus comprising frame means, means for connecting theframe means at spaced points to the load, support means movably mountedon said frame means and movable transversely to said frame means infirst and second directions, lifter means operatively connected to saidsupport means and movable perpendicular to said first and seconddirections, drive means including electrical motor means to drive saidsupport means and said lifter means, and electrical control means forsaid motor means operable to actuate said motor means when the load istilted to move said lifter means to any point in a plane and thusposition said lifter means over the center of gravity of the load sothat force may be applied to the lifter means to lift the load in asubstantially level condition.
 9. Lifting apparatus for lifting andcontrolling a three-dimensional load comprising, a frame, means forattaching said frame to said load, said frame having two elongated andparallel tracks, bridge means movably mounted on said tracks and movablein first and second directions, lifter means movable with said bridgemeans and further movable in third and fourth directions perpendicularto said first and second directions, drive means for said lifter meansand said bridge means including electrical motor means, and electricalcontrol means for said motor means operable to actuate said motor meansto position said lifter means at any point in a plane in order tocontrol the angle of the load while lifted.
 10. Lifting apparatus forlifting and leveling a three-dimensional load comprising, a frame havinga pair of spaced and parallel tracks, means for attaching said frame tosaid load at spaced points, a bridge having wheels riding on said tracksand movable in two opposite directions, a motor, screw means couplingsaid motor to said bridge for driving said bridge, said bridge having atrack at right angles to said tracks of said frame, a lifter havingwheels riding on said track of said bridge, another motor, and furtherscrew means coupling said other motor to said lifter for driving saidlifter in directions perpendicular to said opposite directions, saidlifter being adapted to be coupled to a crane or the like to lift a loadand leveling the load by operation of said motors to place the lifterover the center of gravity of the load.